KC and PSE certification for Korean and Japanese power cords: KTL test report scope + JET round-trip mark application — 5-step compliance path

This article is published as an industry-standard reference by the Orient Elec Compliance Team. Orient Elec is a power cord, plug, and cable manufacturer in Yuyao, China, supplying certified cord sets to OEM home appliance, industrial, and rail-transit customers worldwide. Our SAA, KC, and PSE-certified cord ranges are documented per build with CE / ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 / TS qualifications and the relevant type-test reports.

H2-1 · Why Korea and Japan require two different compliance paths even for similar cords

Industry-standard reference: a Korean 2-pin cord and a Japanese 2-pin cord both look like a Class II cord set with flat parallel pins, but the regulations behind the two are not the same. Korea administers safety through KATS (Korea Agency for Technology and Standards) under the Electrical Appliances Safety Control Act, with the KC mark as the visible compliance symbol. Japan administers safety through METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) under the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (commonly referred to as the DENAN Act after the 2001 revision), with the PSE mark (◇ for Category A, ○ for Category B) as the visible compliance symbol.

The two regimes do not recognise each other's marks. A cord with a KC mark cannot be offered for sale in Japan on the strength of that mark alone; a cord with a PSE mark cannot be offered for sale in Korea on the strength of that mark alone. For an OEM shipping into both markets — common for home appliance, IT, and consumer-electronics manufacturers — the cord-set SKU carries two independent compliance files, two test reports, and two surveillance audits.

H2-2 · KC certification — KTL test report scope, and what it covers

Industry-standard reference: KTL (Korea Testing Laboratory) is Korea's largest state-run testing institution under MOTIE (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy). KTL laboratories are KOLAS-accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, and KTL test reports are the recognised route to a KC Safety Certificate, a KC Safety Confirmation, or a KC Supplier's Declaration of Conformity, depending on the product category.

For power cords, the KTL test report scope typically covers:

• Plug construction — pin geometry, pin-pull, mechanical strength, and the Korean plug profile (Type C 2-pin or Type F 3-pin variants as defined in KSC 8305).
• Cord and cable — conductor size, insulation resistance, voltage-withstand, and flexibility.
• Connector end — IEC 60320 C13, C15, C19, or other appliance-side connector, matched to the cord rating.
• Marking and labelling — KC mark placement, model designation, voltage and current ratings, manufacturer identification.
• EMC and energy-related requirements where the standard calls for them.

Industry-standard reference: if the manufacturer already holds a CB certificate and test report covering the Korean voltage of 220 V AC / 60 Hz and the relevant IEC standards, the KTL application can be shortened — the CB scheme data is referenced in the KC application, and KTL focuses on national deviations rather than re-running the full test sequence.

H2-3 · PSE certification — DENAN Act and the round-trip through METI / JET

Industry-standard reference: PSE certification is the Japanese national scheme for electrical appliances and materials. The DENAN Act (Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act) classifies products into two categories: Category A (high-voltage class, third-party certification required, PSE diamond mark ◇) and Category B (low-voltage class, manufacturer self-declaration, PSE round mark ○). Power cords fall into one of these categories depending on rating, application, and the specific appendix in the law.

For Category A products, the round-trip pattern is:

1. The manufacturer (or its authorised representative in Japan) submits the build to a registered conformity assessment body — JET (Japan Electrical Safety and Environment Technology Laboratories) is one of the most recognised.
2. JET performs the type-test under the relevant Japanese standard (typically aligned with IEC 60320 for connector ends, plus the Japanese plug standard).
3. JET issues the test report and certificate.
4. The manufacturer files the build with METI, and the PSE diamond mark can be applied to the product.

Industry-standard reference: for Category B products, the round-trip is shorter but the documentation obligations are still real — the manufacturer self-declares conformity, files the technical documents, and applies the PSE round mark. METI retains the right to inspect technical documents on request.

H2-4 · Cord-pairings Korean and Japanese OEMs typically specify

Industry-standard reference: the most common Korean cord specifications overlap with the European Type C / Type F form factor, while Japanese cords typically follow the JIS C 8303 plug (Type A 2-pin parallel). For an OEM shipping into both markets, the cord-set SKU is usually two distinct SKUs (one with the Korean profile, one with the Japanese profile) even when the cable and connector end are identical.

Industry-standard reference: the table above is a synthesis of the pairings commonly seen in Korea / Japan dual-market OEM builds. The KC certification scope and PSE category assignment for any specific build belongs on the certificate and the METI filing, not on a generic table.

For buyers sourcing certified power cord builds for either market, the safest starting point is to confirm the certification scope against the specific connector and cable rating that will ship — and to confirm that the build is on a certified power cord line that has KC or PSE type-test coverage for that combination.

H2-5 · The 5-step compliance path for KC + PSE dual-certified cords

Industry-standard reference: for an OEM that wants both KC and PSE marks on the same physical cord construction, the two tracks run in parallel rather than sequentially. The 5 steps below describe the typical end-to-end path.

The two tracks share the same physical cord, but the compliance files do not merge. A buyer sourcing dual-certified cords should expect two certificates, two test reports, and two surveillance files for the same SKU.

H2-6 · Common pitfalls — KC scope mismatch, JET round-trip timing, Class-II vs Class-I confusion

Industry-standard reference: three pitfalls account for most KC + PSE compliance escalations.

Pitfall 1 — KC scope mismatch

The KC certificate covers a Type C 2-pin → C7 cord, but the order is for a Type F 3-pin → C13 cord. The Type F 3-pin build needs a separate KC application even though the cable and connector are rated for the higher current. The KC certification does not automatically scale across the plug profile.

Pitfall 2 — JET round-trip timing

The PSE Category A certificate has been issued, but the METI filing has not been completed. The PSE diamond mark cannot legally be applied to production units until METI acknowledges the filing. Selling pre-filing units is a common compliance issue at the Japanese-importer side.

Pitfall 3 — Class II vs Class I confusion

A cord is built for a Class II (double-insulated) appliance but is shipped with a 3-pin earthed Korean or Japanese plug profile. The earthed plug profile implies Class I (earthed appliance), so the certification scope and the appliance classification drift apart. The right approach is either a true 2-pin Class II cord, or a true 3-pin earthed cord whose Class I appliance pairing is documented end-to-end.

All three pitfalls are caught by treating the KC and PSE tracks as independent compliance streams from the start, with their own documentation files.

Buyers who want to cross-reference the certificates currently held against a specific build can review the supplier's published certificate page and confirm KC and PSE coverage by model.

H2-7 · How Orient Elec sequences KC and PSE approvals

Orient Elec maintains KC-certified Korean cord configurations and PSE-certified Japanese cord configurations as separate product lines. Each line is documented with the relevant test report (KTL or JET), the certificate, and the surveillance file held by the certification body. For dual-market OEM buyers, the two lines can be ordered in parallel — same cable construction, same connector end, different plug profile, two independent compliance files.

Sequencing the two approvals in parallel rather than sequentially is what keeps the lead-time short. A CB certificate + test report covering the IEC 60320 connector end is shared between the KTL submission and the JET submission; the plug-side test is the work each institute has to do separately.

Industry-standard reference: the documents Orient Elec provides for each KC- or PSE-certified build are limited to the certificate, the test report referenced on the certificate, and the surveillance record on file. The CB certificate (where applicable) is provided on request and is the connector-end portion of the compliance file.

H2-8 · What an OEM buyer should request before placing volume orders

Industry-standard reference: the documentation package for a KC + PSE dual-certified cord looks like the 4-document pattern used for other regional certifications, but with the KC and PSE tracks kept distinct:

• KC test report + KC certificate — issued by KTL (or KTC / KTR) and the KATS-accepted certification body.
• PSE test report + PSE certificate — issued by JET (or equivalent registered body), plus the METI filing reference.
• CB certificate + CB test report — the connector-end portion that both tracks reference.
• Factory audit record — the surveillance file for the factory on the certificate(s).

Confirming these documents up-front is what separates a "we have KC and PSE" claim from an audit-defensible dual-compliance file.

H2-9 · Request KC and PSE certification documentation

For Korea / Japan OEM buyers who want the dual-track compliance file tied to a specific build (cord-set model + connector + cable rating + plug profile), the fastest path is to contact us with the build reference. We will return the KC test report + certificate, the PSE test report + certificate, the CB certificate where applicable, and the factory audit record for the production site.